Foreign J^''otices. 337 



which the grapes appear degenerated or inferior, by others whose fruit 

 is of the finest quality. It is by this practice that the Royal Vinery pre- 

 serves its superiority over all others in the kingdom. There exists, at 

 present, but one plant of all those which M. Brassin found there seven- 

 teen years ago; and many of those which he has since i)l'anted, have been 

 replaced by others considered of better quality. The present appear- 

 ance of the Royal Vinery is really beautiful. 



M. Brassin communicated to nie the two following facts, which I think 

 worth })ublishing for the sake of horticulture. He had always been in 

 the habit of following the custom, adopted every where, of enriching 

 the earth of his grapery with dung, and he at last is able to prove that 

 this ap|)lication impairs the quality of the grape. At present, he applies 

 no more such manure; he gets together the cleansing of ditches, grass- 

 turf, sweeping of roads, and filth, and mixes them well together. He 

 sufters the mass, thus prepared, to rijten for two years, and makes use 

 of it in place of dung. This confirms what has already been ascertained, 

 and what the best authors have recommended; but the second communi- 

 cation is altogether novel, and I am going to arrive at it by a transition as 

 natural as possible. When the maturity of the grapes is at hand, or 

 when, in backward seasons, fears are entertained that the ripening will 

 not be eas}^, it is usual for the greatest number of persons, even gardeners, 

 to cut and pull off all theleaves which are before the fruit, in order, as they 

 allege, that the sun may shine fully upon it, and ripen it speedily; and al- 

 though experience proves, that the more the leaves are removed the less 

 the fruit ripens, custom always causes the leaves to be taken off in abun- 

 dance, at the expense of the quality of the grape, which then wastes 

 away and gets wrinkled in place of becoming ripe. M. Brassin acts al- 

 together differently with his. He knows that the leaves cannot be re- 

 moved in a great number with impunitj', from around the grapes, and 

 he is therefore exceedingly cautious, and refrains from removing any of 

 the leaves in front of the fruit. Those which he lakes away are those 

 behind, lying between the grapes and the wall, in order that the heat of 

 the sun, i)eing reflected by the wall, may strike the grapes from behind, 

 and produce tiie effect desired. I have had experience of the efticacy 

 of this proceeding; and I do not hesitate to recommend the practice of 

 it, whilst I condemn the old custom of taking away the leaves in front. 

 One ought to ])ossess some notions of vegetable physiology, in order to 

 take away leaves jjroperl^', otherwise the fruit is sure to suffer. 



Orange-trees. — M. Faucheux, nurseryman at Fontainbleau, rears 

 orange trees in great numbers. Of two grafts, or modification of grafts, 

 which he uses for multiplying them rapidly, one appeared to me so ex- 

 cellent in its results, that I think it worthy of being made known. Get 

 a young citron tree of one or two years' growth — it must be put in sap 

 by the means generally practised, if it is not so already. When the buds 

 begin to get along, the head of the ])lant is cut ofi' above three or four 

 of the best buds; a slit is then made with the grafting knife, between 

 the stem and the second or third bud in descending, so that the bud and 

 its leaf should terminate the lip. A branch of an orange tree is then 

 taken, of a diameter a little less than the stock; it is sharpened with a 

 sloping cut, and is then iutroduc;'d into the stock in the usual manner, 

 and tied on with a woollen string. The plant is then jjlaced under a 

 glass frame, as a graft a la Ponloise, and the same care is bestowed on 

 it. When the union is certain, and the bud pushes forth, the stock is 

 cut above the graft, and in a short time the marks of the wound disap- 

 pear altogether. The superiority of the Faucheux graft over the Pon- 

 toise or English graft, is that it allows one to arrange the leaves and the 



